Man in custody killed trying to escape during officers’ search for explosives in woods

HARLAN
A man shot and killed during a confrontation with authorities Thursday night in Harlan County was previously accused of concealing explosives in trail cameras and putting them in the woods.

Mark Sawaf, 39, of Harlan had been indicted by a federal grand jury in July and was scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 13, according to court documents. He was ordered to remain in custody until trial and was indicted on eight charges, including owning and making unregistered destructive devices.

Lexington Fire Department investigator Capt. Brad Dobrzynski shot Sawaf during the altercation, which occurred after Sawaf tried to escape, state police said. ATF Special Agent Todd Tremaine and Lt. Matt Greathouse of the Lexington Police Department hazardous devices unit were also involved in the altercation that broke out on a hill above Woodland Hills subdivision about 6:50 p.m.

ATF had received information that Sawaf had placed more explosives in the woods and had gone with him to find them, Kentucky State Police Trooper Shane Jacobs said Friday. ATF asked Lexington police and fire officials for help because of “an expanded area” that needed to be searched and the scale of the operation, state police said. The state police hazardous devices unit was also asked to assist.

Sawaf died at the scene, according to state police and the Harlan County coroner’s office.

The group had found several trail cameras in the woods before the shooting, and bomb technicians searched the area Friday for more explosives, Jacobs said. Trail cameras are usually affixed to trees and are motion-activated to take photos of deer and other animals, but Sawaf allegedly had modified some with explosive material.

Apparently, Sawaf had a taste for hot blondes.

Although I have no information on Sawaf’s relationship to the blonde in the photos, she appears to be a wife or girlfriend. I’ve noticed that Middle Eastern males assimilate in the West to the extent of going after white women, especially blondes.

First, let’s call out that white-hating son of a bitch Obama for not getting all available resources to the Smoky Mountains when the fires first started. The area is mostly white. Obama hasn’t had the decency to even mention the devastation.

Second, let’s note that ISIS just a few months ago advised Muslims in the US to start wildfires. That brings to mind the settlement of “refugees” in Tennessee by Obama. So, it’s very reasonable to speculate that the arson was Muslim terrorism. The media has been claiming that area is in drought and that the fires were caused by falling electrical wires or some such.

GATLINBURG — Seven people are now confirmed dead in the wildfires that ravaged Sevier County this week, authorities said Wednesday.

Early assessments indicate wildfire has damaged or destroyed more than 700 homes and businesses across the county this week, county Mayor Larry Waters said at an afternoon news conference. Fire officials said that number includes about 300 buildings inside the Gatlinburg city limits.

The blaze erupted as flames whipped by high-speed winds raged through town Monday night into Tuesday morning and displaced more than 14,000 residents in an inferno witnesses called unlike any in the past century. It’s the latest destruction by wildfires that officials estimate have consumed more than 15,000 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains.

A firefighter was hurt fighting the blaze, Waters said. His injuries appeared to be minor. The search continues for others who might have been killed or injured but not discovered due to blocked roads and power outages.

At least three people trapped due to fire damage had been rescued by Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities have not given the identities of those killed. Three bodies were found in North Chalet Village, and a fourth was found in a burned-out hotel off U.S. Highway 321.

Three more had been found by Wednesday afternoon — all three in a home on Campbell Lead Road, authorities said.

“We are trying to get into every area,” Waters said. “Those efforts will continue today.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has set up a hotline at 800-TBI-FIND to help with the search for missing people.

Eight new fires erupted Tuesday into Wednesday, Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said. Most were brush fires, but one was a vacant home that caught fire.

Amidst the tragedy, there was at least one poignant, but light moment involving a man and a little baby bear.

As long as our people are under attack and I’m alive, I’m going to keep writing. Monsters like that guy give me the strength to go on. All of us must keep spreading the truth as best we can.

Finally, kudos to those organized, intelligent white firemen who have been working to save what could be saved. Emergency situations are no place for affirmative action hires or affirmative action presidents.

A study that was published on American Renaissance last year showed that whites are by far the most altruistic race. Part of that concern for others includes remembering the dead.

When my late grandmother was a little girl, she would go pick wildflowers in rural Alabama and then place them on the graves of the dead. When I asked her why she did that, she replied, “The dead can’t do for themselves. They need someone to do for them.”

Now, I’m starting to cry like Claire Hudson did when she read the note that came with her $36 tip.

“I would’ve liked to have caught them and said ‘hey this is awesome!,’ she said. “They did it anonymously and it was really sweet.”

In addition to the $36, the couple also left Hudson with a note explaining the heartfelt meaning behind the digits.

“Today is my brother’s b-day,” it said, written behind the credit card receipt. “He would have been 36 today. Every year I go eat his favorite meal (hot dogs) and tip the waitress his age. Happy B-day Wes.”

“I was in tears when I read it,” Hudson said. “I had to go in the back of the restaurant and compose myself before I went out to my other tables.”

About three hours after the experience, Hudson posted an image of her customer’s note on Reddit.

“When I woke up I was on the front page,” she said. “It had over 1.5 million views on Imgur and 350K upvotes on Reddit.”

In light of her story going viral, Hudson and the restaurant owner hope to track down the kind patron that left the tip.

“We want to see what his brother Wes liked on his hot dogs because we’d like to name a hot dog after him,” she said.